Market forces and process innovations that have been driving change across industry verticals are snowballing, and the cumulative impact over time is gaining weight. In particular, three interconnected factors are going to be a big part of the key business trends for the coming year.

Effective leaders know that delegating tasks is key to maximizing the value they can ultimately provide to the organizations they run. Yet when it comes to high-value customers, the direct involvement of CEOs can pay off in spades, indicating to customers just how important the company collectively considers the relationship. Here are 5 simple ways you can prioritize your high-value customers, despite your busy schedule.

No sector today is protected from having new and rising technologies turn them upside down. To better prepare, McKinsey came up with a list of technology trends that will continue to upset business as CEOs have known it, and that companies should be prepared to outsmart or overcome.

You've been asked to serve on the board of a nonprofit organization. Should you accept? Membership on a nonprofit board is a rewarding experience for many CEOs whose skills and experience running a company make them especially valuable to the organizations they serve. CEOs should, however, conduct due diligence regarding the organization and understand the duties of board membership prior to accepting a board seat.

CEOs have been fixating on the importance of millennials as consumers and workers. But have they thought about the kind of leaders the members of Generation Y will become as they age and climb into important positions in their businesses? And more importantly, how the grooming and mentoring process might need to change to optimize their growth and their strengths?

The shut-down of the U.S. Export-Import Bank is hurting some global businesses and, as a result, some CEOs badly want to see Congressional reauthorization soon. But the conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives who want to permanently pull the plug on the Ex-Im Bank insist that its demise will be better for free-market capitalism overall.